Home sweet home for the Minnesota Twins’ Jose Miranda (64) high-fives Royce Lewis (23) after hitting a home run in the second inning against the visiting Oakland A’s at Target Field in Minneapolis on Fri May 6, 2022 (AP News photo)

Seven Losses In A Row For Oakland Losing to the Twins 2-1

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Oakland Athletics (10-15) traveled to Minnesota to take on the first place Twins (15-11). The A’s have been struggling having lost their last six games. Oakland last came out with a win on April 27 when they beat the San Francisco Giants 1-0. The string of loses continues for the A’s as they drop their seventh consecutive game at Target Field to the Twins 2-1.

Zach Logue was on the mound for Oakland and Josh Winder got the nod for Minnesota. Logue has a 2-1 record and Winder comes in with a 1-0 record and a 2.20 ERA.

Through five innings the A’s had a five hits but Winder was really heating up with nine strikeouts through five innings. His breaking ball was spot on making things very difficult for Oakland hitters. Stephen Piscotty singled in the second inning and Elvis Andrus singled in the same inning. Piscotty was waved home and was thrown out at the plate. That was about the only threat that Oakland posed so far in this game.

In the second inning Minnesota’s Jose Miranda homered left to take the early lead 1-0. In the fifth inning Byron Buxton would send another ball out of the park for a 2-0 lead. This was his ninth homer of the season. Going into the sixth inning the Twins had five hits.

The A’s made some noise in the sixth inning with runners on first and third. Pache had an infield single. Sheldon Neuse grounded into a fielder’s choice. Cristian Pache would reach third base on a fielding error by second baseman Jorge Polanco. When Jed Lowry hit a sacrifice fly to center Pache would score. Oakland trailed 2-1 after six innings.

The A’s would battle to the end. In the ninth inning Oakland had the bases loaded but Chad Pinder would strike out and another disappointment for the Athletics.

The A’s try to avoid a eighth loss in a row as the team continues to struggle offensively. For Saturday the A’s will start James Kaprielian (0-1 ERA 18.00) who will take the mound for Oakland and for the Twins Chris Paddack (1-2 ERA 3.15) will start in game 2 of the series in Minneapolis. First pitch is scheduled for 11:10 AM.